Merry Christmas from the Hood Family....

Merry Christmas from our family to yours. We wish each of you a very happy holiday with lots of time surrounded by your loved ones. Please take time to remember our Savior and all that he did for you in His short life here on earth. We love each of you and wish the best for your families!

Couple of days... couple of weeks

So I wasn't back to blog like I promised, but hey, this will make 2 posts in December, which is a better record than I've been carrying.
Alex had a cardiology appointment on December 7th. Once again, he got a thumbs up from his doc. His oxygen saturations hover around 81-83%, scary for a healthy adult, but great for a heart kiddo who's only 2/3 of the way done with his correction. He, of course, was not a happy camper during the appointment. He is textbook for "white coat syndrome". The kid does not want messed with... and he is happy to tell that to whoever is messing with him! His crying is helpful for his chest x-ray, because at some point he has to take a breath, and that's when they take the picture. The x-ray looked great. He actually sat fairly well for Dr. Puchalski, and showed him his socks and boots. He also let him listen to his heart and lungs without too much screaming. So, the next step is to come back in another 6 months! Isn't that great! He said that the more weight we can get him to gain, the better. He would like him to put on at least 5 lbs. Well, if he has any feeding tricks, he should've shared, because Alex has very limited interest in eating... even sweets. We are so pleased with his progress and good health. Our Heavenly Father has blessed him and each of us beyond measure. We are so grateful for His love!
Alex has learned to say "peeezzz" which also doubles for "cheese" when taking a picture like this.....

We had a great event happen at our home on December 6th....

Finally, a lost tooth and a visit from the tooth fairy. Boy, the tooth fairy is A LOT more generous than when I was a kid. Sam was pretty excited to get "a buck" from the tooth fairy. He has another tooth that should've come out already, but it's hanging on for who knows how much longer. We keep trying to talk him into pulling it out on Christmas Eve so that he can have Santa and the Tooth Fairy in his house all in one night! Not many kids can claim that. I think he's pretty cute with his tooth missing!

We went to see Santa. There is a nursery just down the road from us. They advertised that there was going to be Santa, reindeer, and free hot chocolate and cookies. Well, that was all it took for me. I was not about to spend money to see Santa, and make Alex wait in a long line of coughing, sneezing, snotty nosed kids and adults. The trip was succesful and Alex barely cried. Here are a few pics...






SO much more to post, such little time. 'Tis the season, right?! Be back soon!

Blogging Funk!!

Yes, it's true, as if you can't tell.... that is for any of you that actually still check our blog. I have been in a MAJOR blogging funk. It's not that we haven't had anything happening and that I don't have pictures.... it's just, I guess, I've had a hard time justifying spending my time blogging instead of with my family. Maybe I'm not as fast at it as others are, it just seems to take a lot of my time to blog.
So right now, Alex is sleeping and Sam is at a friends house playing. Normally I would be taking advantage of some free time and clean my house, but today, I'm leaving the mess and catching up on a few things.
I really hope to get better at this, and keep up on what's happening in the Hood household. So, hunker down and get comfortable.... it's going to be a long one!
Do I dress my children? Yes, but they do think it's a lot of fun to run naked while the bathtub is filling up. And, since my blog is private... I can post naked pictures of my kids, because I think they are stinkin' cute!


We had a really fun Halloween. Sam was thrilled to wear his costume to school. They got to have a fun party at school with games, stories and cookies. He had decided in 2008 that he was going to be Dracula. Well, that idea was scratched, when upon entering the store he found a really cool Darth Vader costume. So, needless to say Dracula had to wait until 2009. He loved having his face painted, and his vampire teeth, but he was NOT about to let me spray paint his hair. He was positive that the paint wouldn't come out, and so we had a brown haired Dracula.
Alex was a farmer. I knew he wouldn't keep a costume on, and I knew that he wouldn't last through trick-or-treating. Since we had overalls, a plaid shirt and a straw hat... farmer it was. And he was pretty cute too.




As you can see, Alex wouldn't even leave his hat on. We got to visit Hamma, where Sam proceeded to load his bucket up with treats (isn't that what Grandmas are for?). Then we headed to my parents house where we got to eat lots of yummy chili, bread and pumpkin cookies... all thanks to Grandma Bon-Bon. The boys then went trick-or-treating with Pa, and then came back to get another candy filler-up from Bon-bon's house. After that we headed back home, where we did even more trick-or-treating. We certainly didn't go without sweets! I don't want to forget to show Sam's pumpkins that he painted. Painting them is so much easier than carving for him... and I think he did a great job! Oh, and just so you know... they are a vampire with a bat, and a witch!


Sam has been so excited about the snow this year. During the first storm that accumulated nearly 1/2 in, he was busy building snowmen, and wrestling with Lucy in the snow. Here are the two snowmen he came up with from the little snow we had...

Lucy laid there waiting patiently for Sam to finish, so that she could eat the carrot noses. And yes, she did eat them!
Tired yet? We still have more to go. I am trying to keep them short though, so that we don't lose interest!:)
We did attempt to give Alex a haircut..... and I should really emphasize attempt!
Who needs a cut?

We were not very successful...

Yep, that's it... and from the above picture, you can see for yourself the pile should be much bigger than it is! His hair is very fitting for his personality, so I think it's kind of funny the way it is....UNRULY! And just so you know, Merriam Websters defines that as: not readily ruled, disciplined or managed! Yep, that's our Alex!
I hope that you were able to stay awake through this post! I have so much more to post: Thanksgiving, IHH Heart Walk, fun fall activities and cardiology update. I will be back in the next few days to do these... I PROMISE!